Communal and Personal Hunting Shrines Around Lake Atitlán, Guatemala
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Figure 1. Hunting shrine near Santiago Atitlan with peccary and white-tailed deer crania. MAYA ARCHAEOLOGY 36 Maya Archaeology Reports Communal and Personal Hunting Shrines Around LakeAtitlan,Guatemala Linda A.Brown n this report I present the results of ethnoarchaeological McAnany et al. 1999; Yaeger 2000, 2003a, 2003b); (b) dedication research on contemporary and recently abandoned Maya and termination rites (e.g., Brady and Ashmore 1999; Garber et hunting shrines around Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.1 Hunting al. 1998; Mock 1998; Robin 2002); (c) feasting (e.g., Brown 2001; Ishrines are places in the landscape used for ceremonial activity LeCount 1999, 2001; Robin 2002); and (d) divination (Simmons to placate the supernatural animal guardian before and after and Sheets 2002). The research reported here suggests that an a hunt. From a material perspective these sites are notable, as important type of ritual is absent from the above categories; no they contain a unique feature indicative of their role in hunting hunting-related ceremonialism is identified. Yet references to ceremonialism—a ritual faunal cache—that is recognizable the supernatural lord of the animals and hunting ceremonialism by archaeologists after site abandonment. Ritual fauna caches flourish in the ethnographic literature (e.g., Alcorn 1984:88; consist of the curated remains of hunted animals deposited at Cabarrús 1998:47; Freidel et al. 1993:187; Hofling 1991:136-153; sacred sites in the context of a hunting rite. Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934:117-118; Sapper 1897:268; Thompson Over the past several decades, Maya household archaeology 1930:88-89, 124-135; Villa Rojas 1945:103; Wisdom 1940:72-73). has significantly increased our knowledge of the rites performed Colonial period documents record commoner participation in by everyday people. We now know that ancient commoners hunting ceremonies throughout the Maya area (e.g., Clendinnen engaged in various ceremonies including: (a) mortuary rites and 1987:73; Cortes y Laraz 1958[1768-1770]:119-120; Scholes and ancestor veneration (e.g., Gillespie 2001; McAnany 1995, 1998; Adams 1938:63; Thompson 1930:124-135; Tozzer 1941:144, 162), while Pre-Columbian iconography and epigraphy attest to the 1 This report describes the 14 hunting shrines identified during the 2005 longevity of a hunting-related deity (Fox and Justeson 1984; field season. Three additional hunting shrines were identified in early work Taube 1997, 2003b). Where is the archaeological evidence of Maya (Brown 2005). Collaborative research conducted by Emery and Brown in 2007 resulted in the discovery of three more hunting shrines, bringing the hunting rites? total number of known sites to 20 (Brown and Emery 2008). The Lake Atitlan hunting shrines provide us with a 200937 In Maya Archaeology 1, edited by Charles Golden, Stephen Houston, and Joel Skidmore, pp. 36-59. San Francisco: Precolumbia Mesoweb Press. SantaCruzSantaCruz LaLagunaLaLaguna Panajachel Tz’ununaTz’ununa JaibalitoJaibalito SanMarcosLaLagunaSanMarcosLaLaguna SantaCatarinaPalopoSantaCatarinaPalopo SanPabloLaLagunaSanPabloLaLaguna LakeAtitlan SanJuanLaLagunaSanJuanLaLaguna SanAntonioPalopoSanAntonioPalopo SanPedroLaLagunaSanPedroLaLaguna SanPedroVolcanoSanPedroVolcano SantiagoAtitlanSantiagoAtitlan SanLucasSanLucas TolimanToliman TolimanVolcanoTolimanVolcano town hunting shrine N AtitlanVolcanoAtitlanVolcano 0 km 4 Figure 2. Map of Lake Atitlan showing the locations of known hunting shrines. glimpse of the “material signature” of hunting rites and the in the past. types of topographic features chosen for this activity. In the following pages, I first describe recently recorded hunting Description of Hunting Shrines shrines and ethnographic information collected about their Under the aegis of El Proyecto Etnoarqueológico Costumbres use.2 Then I discuss the types of topographic features chosen Mayas, directed by the author, three initial hunting shrines for hunting rites, as similar places may have been used in were identified in 2002 (Brown and Romero 2002), with three the past. I present interview data on the types of species and suspected sites located in subsequent work (Brown 2005). During skeletal elements that undergo specialized discard at sacred the summer of 2005, project members returned to Lake Atitlan sites. Finally, I discuss the ritual discard of animal bone from with the goal of identifying additional hunting shrines and other areas of the Maya world and greater Mesoamerica. The conducting ethnographic interviews with older hunters and ritual core cultural concepts informing this behavior have historical time depth suggesting similar discard practices likely existed practitioners who remembered the use of these sites. By the end of the field season, we had recorded 17 hunting shrines; three shrines 2 For information on the in-depth zooarchaeological analyses of three ritual were still active while 14 were virtually abandoned. Hunting fauna deposits, consult Brown and Emery (2008). shrines are associated with Tz’utujil and Kaqchikel communities MAYA ARCHAEOLOGY 38 around the lake including Santiago Atitlan, San Pedro la Laguna, San Juan la Laguna, San Pablo la Laguna, Tz’ununa, San tumbled boulders Antonio Palopo, and a coffee finca south of San Lucas Toliman (Figure 2). Based on field work and ethnographic interviews, we identified two general tumbled boulders types of hunting shrines around Lake 3 Feature 1 Atitlan. The first consists of personal bone deposit shrines used by an individual hunter; field stones the second are communal shrines used alcove by multiple people or even the entire limit community. In addition to hunting avocado and coffee ceremonies, some active sites are used for N other types of ritual requests as discussed below. bone deposit (schematic) rock tuna cactus edge of outcrop Personal Hunting Shrines Based on ethnographic interviews, three 0 .5 1m hunting shrines can be securely classified as personal shrines used by an individual Figure 3. Plan view map of an abandoned private shrine on Chuitinamit. This site and Chuitinamit III were used by the same hunter from Santiago Atitlan. After map by Linda A. hunter. All three shrines were used Brown and Miguel Coché Par, May 25, 2005. by hunters from Santiago Atitlan and abandoned within the past 30-40 years. Two personal shrines were located on bone deposit (schematic) rock Chuitinamit, a small volcanic hill at the coffee edge of outcrop base of the San Pedro Volcano across the Feature 1 bay from Santiago Atitlan. The shrines, bone deposit N located along the eastern slope of the hill, consisted of bone deposits placed in natural rock alcoves formed by tumbled tumbled alcove boulders volcanic boulders (Figures 3–4). The fauna deposits contained cranial and post- cranial remains from white-tailed deer, with an occasional peccary and brocket piled deer present. Both shrines were used field stones stone wall by the same now-deceased hunter. The tumbled limit of hunter’s son continues to watch over his boulders sheltered area father’s fauna cache, covering the bones with sheets of plastic to provide protection against the elements. The other personal shrine is located 0 .5 1m 3 Additionally we recorded a number of abandoned sites where we did not have ethnographic information or adequate surface deposits to discern Figure 4. Plan view map an abandoned private shrine on Chuitinamit. This site and Chuitinamit whether they functioned as communal shrines or II were used by the same hunter from Santiago Atitlan. After map by Linda A. Brown and were used by a single individual. Miguel Coché Par, June 16, 2005. 39 Linda A. Brown N Chukumuk II 8 June 2005 Linda A Brown two kilometersMiguel Coché Pareast of Santiago Atitlan on 0 1 meter bone deposit alcove (schematic) rock a hillside overlooking the archaeological coffee edge of outcrop N site of Chukumuk. Similar to Chuitinamit, Feature 1 rock outcrop 0 .5 1m the shrine we called Chukumuk II was used by a now-deceased hunter from tumbled Santiago Atitlan. According to the boulders hunter’s grandson, his grandfather was field stones a deer hunter and returned bones to the shrine because, if he did not, then “he would not be able to catch any more LEGEND deer.” Deer bones were placed in a steep drop-off steep drop-off shallow alcove under tumbled boulders bone deposit (schematic) and the deposit was protected from coffee plant Figure 5. Plan view map of a private shrine overlooking the archaeological site of Chukumuk. eroding downslope with a stone wall rock/boulder This site was used by a now-deceased Santiago Atitlan deer hunter. After map by Linda A. (Figure 5). While mandibles and post- edge of Brown and Miguel Coché Par, June 8, 2005. cranial elements are present, no crania outcrop were identified, suggesting these may have been returned to the Cofradía San N Juan, as discussed in more detail later. As F8 bone deposit with the private shrines on Chuitinamit, Bone deposit rock shelter wall (schematic) rock this deposit continues to be curated by a tumbled F4 boulders Hearth hearth male biological descendant of the original hunter. F3 F10 F6 0 .5 1m Bone deposit Altar Bone deposit Communal Hunting Shrines Of the fourteen hunting shrines recorded entrance F2 in 2005, more than half (eight) were Hearth confirmed to be communal shrines. F5 Bone deposit Communal shrines are associated with the General scatter 2 piled communities of Santiago Atitlan, San Pedro stones rock shelter wall la Laguna, San Juan la Laguna, San Pablo la Laguna, San Antonio Palopo, and the F1 F9